Retail Watchers

How many states have no Kmarts left now? This round of closures saw Kmart exit Alabama. We are getting close to seeing this happen in other states if they continue with the waves of closures.

The last Sears in Chicago is closing:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... story.html

I have a feeling we will be seeing at the very least a few more scattered closure announcements soon.

Super S wrote: ↑April 12th, 2018, 1:17 pm The last Sears in Chicago is closing:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... story.html

I have a feeling we will be seeing at the very least a few more scattered closure announcements soon.

Very interesting since that's where they started out. Both this and Kmart (original Garden City, MN store) have exited their very beginnings without any proper regard.

And about how these closings are scattered, seems like a new way we'll eventually lead up to the big conclusion. Trying to stretch the whole process out?

BatteryMill wrote: ↑April 12th, 2018, 2:14 pm

Super S wrote: ↑April 12th, 2018, 1:17 pm The last Sears in Chicago is closing:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... story.html

I have a feeling we will be seeing at the very least a few more scattered closure announcements soon.

Very interesting since that's where they started out. Both this and Kmart (original Garden City, MN store) have exited their very beginnings without any proper regard.

And about how these closings are scattered, seems like a new way we'll eventually lead up to the big conclusion. Trying to stretch the whole process out?

In the last few years, there have been a few scattered closings in between the major closing announcements, some which didn't even generate news stories. But I think we are heading closer toward that "big conclusion" every day....

BatteryMill wrote: ↑April 12th, 2018, 2:14 pm

Super S wrote: ↑April 12th, 2018, 1:17 pm The last Sears in Chicago is closing:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... story.html

I have a feeling we will be seeing at the very least a few more scattered closure announcements soon.

Very interesting since that's where they started out. Both this and Kmart (original Garden City, MN store) have exited their very beginnings without any proper regard.

And about how these closings are scattered, seems like a new way we'll eventually lead up to the big conclusion. Trying to stretch the whole process out?

Although Sears started in Chicago, the Six Corners store is not their first retail store. That was the Homan and Arthington location which closed down years and years ago. I grew up not far from Six Corners - it was always a very busy store when I was a kid in the 1970's and even as late as the 1990s. Haven't been there since I moved from Chicago, so can't speak for how busy it is today.

It appears my local Sears is now closing (Reno, NV).

It is odd as a few months ago plans were submitted to the City Council to convert 3/4 of Sears ground floor to some sort of entertainment facility, keep about 1/8 of it for Sears, and sublease the remaining chunk of the first floor to some undetermined tenant. Then, Sears was to retain the entire second floor of the building to operate. I guess plans changed.

The Sears building is from 1995 and the rest of the mall is from 1978. The building looks good outside. The Macys buildings look quite shabby outside.

Also closing are the next two nearest Sears Stores in Roseville, CA and Citrus Heights, CA. Roseville is an extremely productive mall and Citrus Heights is an older mall that seems to be kind of marginal (but that Sears was sure stocked well compared to the Reno Sears which has been quite poorly stocked for the past couple years). But on the bright side, Sears is keeping two stores in Sacramento, Arden in a not so great neighborhood, and Florin in a terrible neighborhood.

Never would have guessed a few group 9 Kmarts would be the last stores standing anywhere near me...

I was looking at Kmart's store locator this morning, and several random states I looked at are down to one Kmart: Arkansas, South Dakota, Utah, and Nebraska. Alabama has no Kmarts left. And some large states such as Texas are down to two stores.

Some of the remaining stores are in such bad shape now though that it would make more sense to pull the plug than to try to keep the name alive in some areas.

Super S wrote: ↑April 19th, 2018, 8:48 am I was looking at Kmart's store locator this morning, and several random states I looked at are down to one Kmart: Arkansas, South Dakota, Utah, and Nebraska. Alabama has no Kmarts left. And some large states such as Texas are down to two stores.

Here's a couple of statistics:
There are 5 Kmarts in New Mexico. Only 2 in Texas. Only 3 in Louisiana. So two of the four states bordering Texas have more Kmarts than ALL of Texas, which was once Kmart's biggest state.

Super S wrote: ↑April 19th, 2018, 8:48 amSome of the remaining stores are in such bad shape now though that it would make more sense to pull the plug than to try to keep the name alive in some areas.

I'm beginning to think this is intentional, so as to destroy the business. If they don't want to at least clean things up, why would I want to shop there?

WSJ: Lampert "CEO" hedge fund offering to buy Kenmore. No other buyers came forward.

The longest mysterious bankruptcy continues.

He sure figured it out - Sears was on so much great real estate. (Just saw the empty Santa Monica store this weekend)

Here is a Los Angeles Times article on the Kenmore (& others) sale: Sears CEO proposes breaking up the company; his hedge fund offers to buy some pieces
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-s ... story.html